Method and apparatus for terrying yarn



G. R. FARMER 3,107,509

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TERRYING YARN 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 22, 1963Filed April '5, 1959 jyf,

INVENTOR 63/8 FHRMER BY MM, f4, im wazzw ATTORNEY Oct. 22, 1963 G. R.FARMER 3,107,509

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TERRYING YARN Filed April 5, 1959 4Sheets-Sheet 2 70 INVENTOR 6/ E. Fix/ 15A BY Maia,

ATTORNEY 0a. 22, 1963 G. R. FARMER 3,107,509

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TERRYING YARN Filed April 3, 1959 4Sheets-Sheet 3 lil I I I I I Pp I! N I'I II I l 0 M :1 ii i: i: i: Z i':iL ii H i oUoUoLlo o 0 o o o 0H0 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Oct. 22, 1963 G. R.FARMER 3,107,509

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TERRYING YARN Filed April 3, 1959 4Sheets-Sheet 4 UOHOHOHOHO OijO O FO 0 OLIOijOUO I W 5d a 55 INVENTOR BYWzfim, 5 4,, MMVZSW ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,107,509 METHQD ANDAPPARATUS FOR TERRYING YARN Glen R. Farmer, Spartanhnrg, S.C., assignorto The Powell Knitting Company, Spartanburg, S.C., a corporation ofPennsylvania Filed Apr. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 803,965 14 Claims. (Cl. 66-14)The present invention relates to the art of terrying yarn and isdirected more precisely to an improved method and apparatus of knittingarticles including at least portions of terry fabric.

It is quite desirable that certain articles of apparel, especially footwear, include areas which are of a heavier, bulkier nature than theremainder so as to provide a cushioning or pile effect. In the case ofhose, the advantages of having a sole and heel and toe which willcushion and support the foot are apparent. It is now well known thatthis can be accomplished by means of a procedure known as terrying.Typically, terry fabric is obtained by simultaneously feeding twostrands of yarn to the bed of needles of a knitting machine andseparately restraining the respective threads at points between theneedles as the threads are drawn into stitches thereby forming longloops of one thread and ordinary loops of the other thread. The longloops constitute terry loops, projecting to one side of the normal planeof the fabric constituted by the ordinary loops, and cause the fabric asa whole to be thicker or bulkier in character. If desired, the terryloops may be brushed or mapped to provide more of a pile efiect.

Proposals have been made of ways by which terrying might be effected inconnection with double-cylinder, circular knitting machines, a commontype of knitting machine used in the production of hose. One of these isexemplified by US. Patent 2,450,376, among others, and involves the useof so-called terry instrumentalities having the form of long leversextending vertically the entire length of the upper cylinder and arrayedin a circle around the interior of the cylinder, each lever having ayarn-engaging project-ion at the lower end thereof and one or morecontrol butts at the upper end, being ful crurned at a pointintermediate its length within a circular carrier; and a highly complexlever actuating mechanism associated with the top end of the uppercylinder and acting on the butts to cause selective movement of thelevers. Machines of this type are currently in production in thiscountry and are capable of satisfactorily knitting terry fabrics. Itwill be apparent, however, that the mechanism employed is quitecomplicated, both in the array of lengthy levers, for which the interiorof the upper cylinder must be especially adapted, and in the highlyinvolved actuating or control mechanism, which would necessarily requiredelicate adjustment for satisfactory operation and therefore constitutea maintenance problem.

Another type of mechanism suggested for terrying is found in US. Patent2,435,770 and it is to this type that the invention is more closelyrelated. Here, the verge associated with the lower end of the uppercylinder is modified to accommodate, for limited radial movement, asubstantially semi-circular array of small terrying bits, each in theform of a thin sheet metal rectangle having a yarn engaging projectionat the outer end. A cam is supported from the shaft of the uppercylinder within the verge for actuating the bits, the operative portionof the cam being capable of independent vertical movement. The uppercylinder is mounted for bodily axial movement and a mechanicalconnection is provided between the cylinder and the movable cam portionsuch that downward movement of the cylinder raises the cam portion "iceout of engagement with the terrying bits, and vice versa. Thisarrangement is simpler in its conception than that previously describedas the operative mechanism is largely confined within the verge.Unfortunately, however, attempts to adapt the arrangement to acommercially acceptable machine'have encountered very seriousdifliculties and, so far as it is known, no practical apparatusembodying the mechanism of the patent has ever been developed. There areseveral reasons for the aforesaid difficulties. One of these is thenecessity for bodily axial movement of the upper cylinder as a whole.The delicate nature of a circular knitting machine requires very closetolerances between working parts and maintenance of these tolerances isvirtually impossible if the upper cylinder is to be subjected to axialmovement. Moreover, in many machines of the double cylinder type, theupper cylinder is in very close operative association with a complicatedmechanical system for actuating the needles and/ or controlling themovement thereof in response to a pre-determined pattern. Consequently,repeated axial movement of the cylinder, even if through only a shortdistance, introduces special problems in maintaining proper workingrelationship of this system with the cylinder. Other causes of improperfunctioning of the patented machine are the two-part verge, one partbeing movable with the cylinder and the other part remaining stationaryto support the verge bits, and the divided control cam in which thebit-actuating segment or salient moves out of and into workingengagement with the bits. Here again, it borders on the impossible todesign a machine to accommodate these movements without disturbing theprecise inter-relation between the parts essential to proper operation.

In general, the present invention may be considered an improvement uponthe mechanism of Patent 2,435,770 which is free of the defects presentin the arrangement proposed there but retains the desirable feature ofincorporating the terrying bits within the verge of the machine.

It is an object of the invent-ion to provide a doublecylinder knittingmachine adapted for terrying yarn wherein the elements cooperating withthe knitting needles to form terry loops, as well as the actuatingmechanism for such elements, are located essentially within the confinesof the verge, and wherein the actuating mechanism can be converted forpurposes of plain knitting by a simple change, but involving bodilytranslation, in the positional relationship of the actuating mechanismwith respect to the elements.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a knitting machineof the type described including a plurality of terrying bits mountedwithin the verge of the machine for limited radial movement; cam meansassociated with the verge for relative rotational movement with respectthereto and operative in one position to sequentially project theterrying bits into the knitting field in timed relation to the actuationof needles therein, whereby stitches with the terry loops therebetweenare formed; and means for moving the cam means to another position withrespect to the terry bits to correspondingly alter the time relationshipbetween the projection of bits and the actuation of stitches, wherebyplain stiches are formed.

Another object [of the invention is the provision of a machine of thetype described adapted for the knitting of both terry stitches and plainstitches in the same course of the fabric, wherein the proportion ofterry and non-terry stitches as well as the order in which they occurcan be varied as desired.

An additional object of the invention is a knitting machine of the typedescribed including a plurality of nonterry bits as well as a pluralityof terry bits wherein the verge is adapted to interchangeably receiveboth types of bits.

Another object of the invention is a knitting machine of the typedescribed including a verge and an associated verge dial cap mounted forrelative rotation and adapted to contain and support for limited radialmovement a plurality of terry bits, the dial cap having a removablesegment to permit removal and replacement of the terry bits.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from thereading of the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partial view in vertical section of the needle cylindersof a knitting machine embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial top plan view of the machine of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a detailed view in vertical section of the verge assemblyand upper cylinder shaft;

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view of the verge assembly with the dial capremoved and showing a portion of the verge bits in operative positiontherein;

FIGURE 5 is "a fragmentary view in vertical section taken along a chordof the verge assembly, illustrating the manner of supporting the bits;

FEGURE 6 is a top plan view of the verge dial cap, showing theconfiguration of the bit-actuating cam groove therein;

FIGURE 7 is a detail view in perspective of a verge bit adapted forforming terry loops;

FIGURE 8 is a detail in perspective of a verge bit adapted for formingplain loops;

FIGURE 9 is a greatly enlarged partial perspective view somewhatdiagrammatic in nature, showing a few needles and terry bits in theactual process of knitting terry stitches, as well as the path taken bythe yarns during knitting;

FIGURE 10 is a developed side elevational view, somewhat diagrammatic innature, of a fragment of the machine in the region of the verge showingthe relationship of the needles, bits and yarns during the knitting ofterry fabric;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary development looking down on the arrangementof FIGURE 9 but with the yarns omitted;

FIGURE 12 is a view similar to FIGURE 10, but showing the relationshipof the parts during the knitting of plain fabric;

.GURE 13 is a view similar to FIGURE 11 looking down on the arrangementof FIGURE 12.

FIGURE 14 is a perspective View similar to a portion of FIGURE 9 butshowing non-terry bits in operative position for knitting plain fabric.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention as thedescription unfolds, certain terms employed in connection therewith willnow be defined. The term terry yarn is used herein to refer to that yarnfrom which terry loops are to be formed, irrespective of whether or notat the particular point of the description terry loops are actuallybeing produced, while the term plain yarn refers to that yarn employedexclusively for the formation of plain stitches in the ground or basefabric. Similarly, the term, terry bit refers to a verge bit which iscapable of forming terry loops Without regard to whether or not at aparticular point it is actually being employed for that purpose, whilethe term non-terry bit refers to a verge bit which is incapable offorming terry loops. The adjective plain is used herein only in thesense of being distinct from terry and is not to be taken as virtuallydescriptive of the thing to which it is applied. Thus, for example, theterm plain fabric will be understood as meaning a fabric or fabricportion free of terry loops without regard to whether the fabric isribbed, patterned, or actually plain in a strict technical sense. Verge"or verge assembly refers to the assembled combination of the verge dial,the array of verge bits, and the verge dial cap, while verge dialconnotes only the generally cylindrical member of the combination thatis slotted to receive the bits. The term stitches denotes the U- shapedstretches of yarn drawn by the needles during knitting while loopsrefers to the stretches or bights of yarn, sometimes also U-shaped,connecting the ends of adjacent stitches. Terry-loops shall mean longloops formed by terry bits; plain loops shall mean normal loops formedby conventional sinkers.

In general, the present invention contemplates a double cylindercircular knitting machine including a shaft extending axially throughthe upper cylinder and a verge dial mounted rotatably on the shaftpartially within the lower end of the upper cylinder, the shaft normallybeing restrained against movement with the cylinders, associateclelements and verge dial rotating there-around. The lower face of theverge is formed with closely spaced, radially directed tricks or slots,into each of which a bit is adapted to fit for limited radial movement.Preferably, two groups of bits are employed, each group occupying aplurality of the slots and the two groups together occupying all of theslots, the bits in one group being shaped to produce terry loops and thebits in the other group being shaped to produce plain loops. A vergedial cap fits closely against the bottom face of the verge, beingfixedly secured to the upper cylinder shaft, and maintains the bitswithin their respective slots. The up per face of the verge dial cap isformed with a cam surface, preferably in the shape of a groove, havingengage ment with butts provided for that purpose on the bits. Theconfiguration of the cam surface is such as to define two adjacentsymmetrical salient portions separated by a re-en-trant portion,preferably in the shape of a V angle. As the cylinders, verge dial andbits rotate during knitting, the dial cap remaining in a predeterminedfixed position relative to stitch formation, the cam surface acts uponthe bits to sequentially project them a short distance into the knittingfield with the result that terry loops are formed in one yarn and plainloops in the other during the terrying portion of the cycle and plainloops are formed in both yarns during the remainder of the cycle. Bymoving the dial cap and shaft to another predetermined position to alterthe relationship of the cam surface to stitch formation, the projectionof the bits can be retarded, resulting in the formation of plain loopsor stitches with both types of bits.

Turning now to a detailed description of the apparatus illustrated inthe drawings, particuiarly FIGURE 1, the numerals 21 and 23 respectivelydesignate the upper and lower needle cylinders of the machine, which aremounted in closely spaced co-axial relationship for rotation about theircommon axis, being supported by known means largely not shown, and beingdriven in synchronism by means also not shown. A circular series ofdoubleended needles 25 is disposed at the mutually adjacent ends of thetwo cylinders, each needle being operable in either cylinder and beingtransferable from one cylinder to the other at will. For this purpose,each cylinder has its external wall provided with closely spaced tricksor slots, as at 27 in the upper cylinder, and sliders, 29, 29' arearranged for vertical movement in these slots, the sliders being formedat one end for engagement and disengagement with the hooks of theneedles. At the upper end of lower cylinder 23 is a circularly spacedseries of sinkers 31 which cooperate with the needles to form stitchesin the usual way, the position of the sinkers being controlled by asinker cam 33. The reciprocation of the needles to form stitches duringknitting is controlled by means of slider cams 35, 35'. Up to thispoint, all of the parts referred to are well known and only enough of aconventional double cylinder knitting machine has been illustrated anddescribed as to convey an understanding of the context in which theinvention exists. It should be borne in mind that the improvement of thepresent invention has to do primarily with the verge and other than thisthe machine is un changed from any of the conventional forms in which itexists. For this reason, it is believed unnecessary to give a moreelaborate description of the arrangement and operation of a doublecylinder machine.

Still referring to FIGURE 1, the top plate 37 of the machine is providedwith an aperture 39 coaxial with the upper cylinder through which passesa shaft or spindie 41, which is held in place by a retaining collar 43surrounding the shaft adjacent its upper end, being secured thereto asby means of set screws (not shown), and bearing'against portions of thetop plate adjacent aperture 3?. Shaft 41 projects at its upper endslightly above the collar 43 and extends through the entire length ofupper cylinder 21 axially thereof to a point slightly below the lowerend of upper cylinder 21 but still somewhat above the upper end of thelower cylinder 23. Fitting around the lower end of shaft 41 is a solid,generally cylindrical verge dial 45, having therein an axial aperture 47of a suitable diameter to freely accommodate the shaft, and aself-lubricating bushing 49 is inserted in this aperture between theverge dial and shaft to permit relative rotation thereof. The axialposition of the verge on the shaft is limited by a retaining collar 51encircling the shaft and adjustably secured thereto by means of a setscrew (not shown). A slight running clearance between the lower surfaceof collar 51 and the upper surface of verge dial 45 is ordinarilyprovided.

Verge dial 45 fits snugly into the open lower end of upper cylinder 21except for a bottom flange portion 53 which overlaps the end of thecylinder and is exposed to view when the verge is assembled in thecylinder. it is necessary that during operation the verge dial and uppercylinder rotate as a unit and to this end the verge is keyed in anydesired fashion to the cylinder at some point around its periphery. Thelower face of verge dial 45 is substantially covered by a circular vergedial cap 55 having a central hub 57 bored to receive the extreme lowerend of shaft 41. Cap 55 is fixed to the shaft by means of a set screw(not shown) and is also keyed to shaft 41, as at 59, to prevent relativerotation between the shaft and cap.

Considering now FIGURES 35, the lower face of verge dial as is providedwith a circular series of narrow slots or grooves 61 located at closelyspaced points around the entire periphery of the face and extendingradially inwardly from the periphery about one-half the length of thedial radius. Each of the grooves ll is adapted to receive a thin, sheetmetal bit 63, the length. of which is sufficiently less than that of thegroove as to permit the bit to slide back and forth radially of thecylinder axis. Preferably, as can be best seen in FIGURES 6 and 7, thebits inserted within the grooves of the dial are of two distinct types:one, designated 63, for forming terry loops, hereinafter referred to asthe terry bit, and the other, designated 64-, for forming plain loops,hereinafter referred to as the non-terry bit. Except at the radiallyoutward ends, both types of bits are identical, having an elongated bodyportion 65 and a downwardly projecting butt or tab 66 at the inner endof the body portion. Each terry bit at its outward end is provided witha generally L-shaped extension 67, having parallel top and bottom edges68 and 69, which will engage and retain a strand of yarn laid thereacross. Each non-terry bit at the same point is provided with agenerally triangular extension 7@ having the inclined edge '71 thereofextending downwardly and outwardly from top to bottom, so that any yarnlaid there across will not be engaged but will rather slide off, and thebottom edge 72 extending horizontally.

Bits 63, 64 are held in position in verge dial slots 61 by means of dialcap 55, the lower edge of body portions 65 slidably resting upon butts66 projecting downwardly below the lower face of verge dial 45 and areengaged by a cam groove 73 formed in the upper face of dial cap 55, thepurpose of groove 73 being to cause controlled radial movement of thebits within the slots upon relative rotation between the dial cap andthe verge dial. Looking now especially at FIG. 5, it will be seen thatearn groove 73 over most of its length has the configuration of aregular circle and is spaced well inwardly from the peripheral edge ofcap 55. Those bits having their butts in engagement with this portion ofthe groove will be maintained within the confines of the upper cylinderand verge dial flange 53 (the two having a common periphery). Thisconfined position will be referred to as the inoperative position of thebits. The remainder of groove 73 is constituted by two salient orradially projecting portions 73!) which at their mutually adjacent endsare connected together by a re-entrant, preferably V-shaped, portion 730and at their remote ends are connected with the remainder of the grooveby means of inclined flank portions 73d. The radial distance between thesalient portions and the dial cap periphery is equal to the length ofthe bits 63, 64 exclusive of the extensions 67, '70. Consequently, thebits engaged by the salient portions will have their extensions juttingout side the vertical face of the verge dial. This will be known as theoperative position of the bits.

As the butt of a bit is contacted by the leading flank portion 73d, thatbit will be moved from its inoperative (confined) position radiallyoutwardly until the butt on ters the first salient portion 73b. At thispoint, the bit extension (67 or 78) will project outside the cylinderperiphery in operative position between the needles situated there, inwhich position it will remain throughout the arcuate length of thesalient portion. As the butt passes into re-entrant portion 73c, the bitis retracted until, at that moment when the butt coincides with the verybottom of the V, the tip of the bit extension will lie on or. slightlywithin the common periphery of the cylinder and dial flange. Thereafter,the bit will be again projected by the other side of the re-entrantportion until its butt is within the second of salients 73b. Throughoutthe arcuate length of the latter, the bit extension will protrude beyondthe cylinder periphery as before, and upon leaving this salient will becarried back into the circular portion 73a by means of the trailingflank 73d. It is desirable that each salient be of substantial arcuateextent so that a number of bits will be maintained thereby in projectedor operative position, and also that the two salients be symmetricallyarranged with respect to the axis of the re-entrant portion.Furthermost, for most satisfactory operation, it is desirable that thebutts are contacted by walls, i.e. at the flank and re-entrant portions,that extent at an angle of not greater than about 45 relative to theprevious path of travel of the butts, except at the very base of there-entrant portion. Greater angles than this, while operable, increasethe likelihood of the butts becoming jammed and bent or broken.

The radial dimension of groove 73 isselected to receive the butts 66 ofthe bits snugly within rather close tolerances to prevent undesirableplay. This snug fit, however, makes it very difiicult to assemble theverge dial, bits and dial cap by inserting the bits in the inverteddial, positioning the butts in conformity with the shape of the groove73, even using a pattern or jig, and placing the dial cap over the faceof the dial with the butts fitting into groove 73. Because of this, itis preferred that the dial cap 55 include a section which is removableto provide an access opening to groove 73 through which opening the bitsmay be inserted one by one. Such a removable section is shown in FIGURES3 and 5 under the designation 75, and includes a central sector 77 ofmore or less truncated triangular shape, extending through the entirethickness or vertical dimension of cap 55 from its periphery to theoutside wall of groove 73, and two integral side portions 79 of lesserthickness than the cap. The latter mate with correspondingly formedrecesses shaped for that purpose in the cap on either side of the cleftcut therein to accommodate sector 77. The entire removable section 75 isfixed to the body of the cap by means of screws 81 in threadwiseengagement with tapped apertures in the recessed areas of the cap. Byunscrewing screws 81, section 75 may be separated from the remainder ofcap 55, leaving an opening through which any or all of the bits may beremoved and replaced for any reason, such as breakage. Obviously, whereless than the entire array of bits is to be removed and replaced any bitor group of bits may be placed in alignment with the cleft in the capobtained by removal of section 75 by suitable rotation of the verge dialrelative to the cap and shaft.

The operation of the verge assembly thus far described has a certaintimed relationship to the formation of stitches by the knitting machineand thus, to the vertical movement of needles which results in theformation of stitches. For this reason, a description of the operationof the assembly will be preceded by a brief statement of the functioningof the usual double cylinder circular knitting machine to producestitches. As is too well known to require illustration here, beingshown, for ex ample, in Patent 2,435,770, reciprocation of the needlesduring stitch formation is ordinarily effected by means of fixed camsspaced around the periphery of the cylinders for engagement with theneedle sliders, which cams in the case of the lower cylinder include acenter cam and two stitch cams arranged symmetrically on each side ofthe center cam. The design of these cams is such that the operation ofthe needle is the same irrespective of the direction of rotation of thecylinder so that knitting can be carried out in either direction, as issometimes necessary. Assuming that the cylinder is rotating in a givendirection, the needles encounter in sequential order the leading orfirst stitch cam and are lifted by the top surface of this cam, raisingthe hooks of the needle to the point above the level of the yarn oryarns to be knitted. Next, the needles engage the center cam by whichthey are depressed slightly and centered for the next operation.Continued rotation of the cylinder brings the needles into contact withthe lower surface of the trailing or second stitch cam, which causes theneedles to move sharply downwardly, the yarn being caught by the hook ofeach needle in sequence, until the hooks of the needles are slightlybelow the horizontal plane of the upper end of the lower cylinder. Sincethe yarn on either side of each needle is always held by sinkers at theplane of the cylinder (or in the case of the terry yarn during terrying,is held by terry bits on either side of each needle at a level spacedupwardly from the plane of the cylinder as will hereinafter be moreclearly brought out) each sharply depressed needle will therefore draw aU-shaped stretch or stitch of yarn held at its ends by a previouslyformed stitch, each pair of stitches being connected by a sinker loop.The alternative stitches and loops form a course as knitting proceeds.After the stitches are drawn, the needles are held in depressed positionfor a short are of cylinder rotation, and are then lifted to relieve thetension on the yarn by means of another cam known as a clearing cam.Other cams may be employed to raise the needles to pass the stitchesover the needle latches. For the purpose of simplifying furtherdescription, that portion of the knitting cycle during which the needlesare depressed by the stitch cam to draw stitches in the yarn will bereferred to as the locus of stitch formation and that region of thecycle at which the needle is lifted by the clearing cam to relieve yarntension will be known as the locus of clearing.

The upper cylinder, on the other hand, is normally provided with onlyone stitch cam and a companion clearing cam. These cams fulfill forpurposes of knitting needles in the upper cylinder to form a ribbed orLinks- Links fabric essentially the same function as their counterpartsin the lower cylinder and accordingly, need no further description.

The present invention contemplates that in the knitting of a course ofyarn at least partly terry, the relationship of the bit-control-camgroove '73 to the cycle of the machine during which the course isknitted will be such that the terry bits are in projected position atthe locus of stitch formation. Referring now to FIG URE l and moreespecially FIGURES 9-10, it will be seen that a terry yarn T and a plainyarn P are fed to the needles at vertically spaced points. The feedingmeans actually illustrated in the drawing are in the form of short rigidtubes supported by means, not shown, externally of the needle cylindersand terminating at points spaced slightly from the cylinder periphery.Such feeding means are known in the art and 'may be employed quitesatisfactorily, although other means, such as the latch-guard, are alsoknown and may be employed with equally good results. Irrespective of theparticular means utilized, the two yarns are made available =to theneedles from the vertically spaced points closely adjacent the cylinderperiphery.

In the arrangement of the drawings, where the needles are beingmanipulated in the lower cylinder, as is the usual practice duringterrying, the upper feed tube 35a carries terry yarn T while the lowerfeed tube 85/) carries plain yarn P, the terry yarn tube being above thehorizontal plane of the bits and the plain tube being below that plane.The exact spacing between the two tubes as well as the spacing betweenthe cylinder periphery and tube ends may be varied somewhat inaccordance with individual preference, provided that sufficient verticaloperating clearance is maintained vertically between these tubes and theprojected position of the bits and horizontally between the tube endsand cylinder periphery.

In FIGURES 911, there is shown a fragment of the needle bed and adjacentportions of the two cylinders engaged in the actual knitting of asection of terry fabric, it being understood that these figures aregreatly enlarged and rather diagrammatic in character. The latter isparticularly true in the case of FIGURE 9 where the number of needlesengaged in the operation have been greatly reduced from that which wouldactually be employed in order to compress the action to available space.In FIGURES l0 and 11, the number and position of the necdles is morenearly in agreement with actual practice although even here, it shouldnot be necessarily inferred that a precise operative arrangement isillustrated. As these figures are considered, it should be kept in mindthat the two cylinders, verge dial, bit array, and needle array allrotate as a unit during actual knitting as indicated by an arrow, whilethe yarn feeding means, i.e. tubes 85a and 85b, remain stationary asdoes verge dial cap 55, the latter being hidden in these figures. Duringeach cycle to produce one course of yarn, the cylinders pass through 360degrees of rotation and each of the needles in the needle bed move insequence to all of the positions determined by the slider cams. Theaction has been stopped in the FIGURES 9-11 to illustrate such of thesepositions as is relevant to an understanding of the invention.

It has already been stated that when terry fabric, or more precisely acourse of yarn composed at least in part of terry loops, is to beknitted the terry bits must be in projected position during theformation of stitches. This is effected by means of the second ortrailing salient of bit control cam 73. Consequently, when the verge assembly is installed in the machine and preliminary to actual operation,shaft 1 is rotated to align the proper salient with the locus of stitchformation. As the shaft is rotated, the verge dial being held stationaryin the upper cylinder, one will observe two adjacent waves ofbit-projecting portions moving progressively around the peripheral faceof the verge dial. Suitable alignment is achieved when the second ofthese waves, in the direction of the cylinder rotation, is incorrespondence with the vertically moving wave of downwardly descendingneedles denoting the locus of stitch formation.

It has been found in the case of typical 4 Komet Links & Links KnittingMachine, proper alignment obtains when the axis of the re-entrant orti-shaped groove portion 730 is in radial alignment with yarn feed tubes85:: and 85b (see FIGURE 11). Whether or not this would hold true forall machines would depend upon the spacing of the feed tubes from thelocus of stitch formation, which spacing may conceivably vary. In anyevent, determination of proper alignment can be made by observing thecorrespondence of the second wave of bit projections with the downwardlydescending wave of needles.

With the axis of the V-shaped groove portion 730 and the axis of theyarn feed tubes lying in a common vertical plane passing through thecylinder axis, that terry bit having its longitudinal axis in this sameplane, designated 63a, will be in retracted inoperative position, noportion thereof projecting externally of the verge dial periphery. Oneither side of this fully retracted bit will be at least one partiallyretracted bit 63b, and on the side of each partially retracted bitremote from fully retracted bit 63a will be a group of fully projectedbits 630. The number of fully projected bits 630 in each group willdepend upon the length of the respective salient groove portions 7311 aswill be more fully discussed later.

Once the preliminary adjustment is completed and knitting is initiatedin the usual way, the yarns extend from tubes 85a, 85b around a part ofthe periphery of the verge dial towards the needles within the locus ofthe stitch formation, with terry yarn T passing above, and plain yarn Ppassing below the several bits adjacent fully retracted bit 63a. Theprojected bits in the first wave may be disregarded since they play nopart in the operation, being utilized only when knitting takes place inan opposite direction.

As seen in FIGURE 9, needle 25a has been centered by the center cam andis in position to enter the locus of stitch formation. It is importantto note that the spacial arrangement of the machine is such with regardto the distance separating the two yarns, the distance separating thelowermost yarn P and the lower cylinder, and the dimensions of theneedle and its latch that no needle is ever raised to an extent thatwould permit the lowermost yarn to pass below a needle latch in theregion of the needle bed between the yarn feed tubes and that point atwhich the stitch is completely formed. The lowermost yarn may, andordinarily will, lie on the open latch of certain needles but that yarncannot be permitted to pass beneath or below the open latch ifunsatisfactory operation is to be avoided. Needle 25b is already withinthe locus of stitch formation, having dropped somewhat from its centeredposition, but neither yarn has yet become engaged in the hook thereof.

Subsequent needles in the needle wave take progressively lowerpositions, first engaging the terry thread T in the hook and drawingthis yarn into the form of a shallow catenary between the end portionsof two projecting bits 630, as exemplified by needle 250; next drawingthe terry yarn into a deeper catenary while engaging the plain yarn P inthe needle hook, as exemplified by needle 25d; then drawing the engagedportions of both yarns through a previously formed stitch of the twoyarns in plated relation, which stitch pass-es over the closed latch andoff the needle, as exemplified by needle 25a; and finally drawing theplain yarn into a catenary between the points of engagement thereof withsinkers (not shown) while drawing the terry yarn catenary to maximumdepth as exemplified by needle 25 Stitch formation therefore results, onone side of the plane of knitting, in normal stitches of terry and plainyarns in plaited relation and, on the other side in normal loops ofplain yarn and substantially elongated loops of terry yarn, the latterbeing due to the engaging action of the projecting terry bit extensionson the terry yarn.

The stage is now set for casting oil of the elongated terry loops one byone from the bit ends and lessening of stitch tension. As might beexpected, the terry loops are cast oil by retracting the terry bits insequence into the body of the verge dial through engagement with thebutts thereof of the trailing flank portion 73d, and, as alreadyexplained, easing of the tension on the hookengaged loops is done bymeans of the clearing cam progressively raising the needles above theirmaximum depressed position. Preferably, these two steps are carried outin approximate synchronism, and while this is not absolutely necessary,there is no particular advantage in maintaining either the bitsprojected or the needles fully depressed for substantial periods in thecycle, the usual practice in the field being to relieve stitch tensionshortly after the complete formation of each stitch. If the two stepsare not to be carried out together, it is advantageous that the needlesbe lifted first, since if the hits were to be retracted first the terryloops would likely give to release tension imposed on adjacent stitchesby the fully depressed position of the needles engaged therewith. Bitscasting off loops are indicated at 63d.

It will of course be understood that the above described sequence ofoperations will, in actual practice, occur continuously and smoothly oneach needle in sequence without the existence of any well-defined stagesas might be inferred from FIGURE 9. By way of explanation, there hasbeen included in FIGURE 9 enough of the two prior courses of yarn togenerally illustrate the interrelationship between these courses and thecourse in the actual process of knitting, prime designations beingapplied to the yarns in the immediately preceding course and doubleprime designation to the course once removed from that being knitted. Inaddition, the sinkers in the lower cylinder have been omitted althoughthe slots in which these :sinkers would operate have been indicated at89.

FIGURES l0 and 11 are front elevational and top plan views,respectively, of a development of a portion of the knitting cyclegenerally similar to that depicted in FIGURE 9 with the difference, asalready mentioned, that a greater number of needles has been included inthese views. In order to better correlate FIGURES 10 and 11 with FIGURE9, the needles in substantially corresponding position in all figuresare given the same numerical designation. In some instances, such asFIG- URES l0 and 11, the same designation is applied to more than oneneedle where, due to the inclusion of a greater number of needles, morethan one needle occupies substantially the same position. Also shown inthese figures is the approximate position of the several needles inadvance of centered needles 25a, e.g. needles 251' have been lifted bythe first or leading stitch cam and needles 25k have been lowered by thecenter cam but are not yet in centered position. Sinkers 31 are shown inplace in slots 89 but all previous courses of yarn are omitted for sakeof clarity. In FIGURE 10, the yarn in the course actually being knittedis also omitted to better reveal the relationship of needle and bitprojecting portions. Otherwise, the description of these figures is thesame as for FIGURE 9 and will not be repeated.

The invention contemplates that it shall be possible to knit plainfabric through that portion of the knitting cycle, is. around thatportion of the cylinder periphery corresponding to the segment of theverge dial which contains terry bits despite the fact that the bitextensions are being projected between adjacent needles. This isaccomplished by rotating the verge dial cap 55 relative to the vergedial and bit array and can best be understood with reference to FIGURESl2 and 13. It will be recalled that for purposes of terrying by means ofactive participation of the terry bits, the second or trailing salient73b of cam groove 73 is positioned in general alignment with the locusof stitch formation, which in the case of the particular machineillustrated exists where the axis of the re-entr-ant groove portion 730is aligned with the yarn feed tubes. When it is desired to knit one ormore courses of plain fabric wherein the terry and plain yarns are inplaiting relationship throughout, dial cap 55 is rotated through an aresufficient to align reentrant portion '73 with the locus of stitchformation. The bits in engagement with the re-entrant groove portionare, of course, retracted from their projected position with at leastone bit at a time being fully retracted within the verge dial as thebutt thereof coincides with the axis of there-entrant portion. A gapfree of projecting bit portions will, consequently, exist between thetwo waves of projecting bits. By causing the terry yarn to pass throughthis gap between the yarn feed tubes and the first needle in the book ofwhich it is engaged, the terry yarn avoids the projecting bits and isplaited with the plain yarn into stitches and plain loops. In otherwords, considering that the paths of terry yarn and plain yarn from theends of the feed tubes to the hook of the first engaged needle define ashed, the position of the cam re-entrant portion is such that thetrailing salient projects bits into or within this shed if terry loopsare to be formed, but is such that the trailing salient projects no bitswithin this shed if no terry loops are to be formed. The plain yarn isunaffected by the change in cam position, being below the level of thebits throughout.

The actual number of needles taking part in the various steps of theknitting cycle as well as the actual number of bits engaged by thevarious portions of the bit control groove depends to a large extentupon the gauge of the particular machine in operation, which can varywidely. For purpose of exemplification, the following specificarrangement has been found satisfactory for a 24 gauge machine having132 needles and 132 bits of which 66 are terry bits and 66 non-terrybits. At any given time, about 4 needles are centered, 3 of these beinglocated subsequent, in the direction of cylinder rotation, to the feedtubes, and the locus of stitch formation begins about 3 needles from thefeed tubes. About 5 needles are present in the descending wave ofneedles constituting the locus of stitch formation from the highestpoint after centering to the lowest point, and the locus of clearingbegins, therefore, about 10 needles from the feed tubes. About 5 needlesare included in the locus of clearing, considering that this locus endswhen the latch of a needle is on a horizontal level with the top of thesinkers. About 8 bits are in fully projected position in each of thesalients 73b and about 3 bits in each of the flank portions 7315. About4 bits are within the re-entrant portion, the maximum arcuate extent ofwhich is about equal to the distance separating 4 needles. When a plaincourse is to be knitted, dial cam 55 is rotated a distance equal to thespacing between about 3 needles.

It will be understood that the above values are by no means absolute,even for a given gauge of machine. For example with the gauge indicated,the number of bits in the reentrant portion may vary between about 3 and5 and the number of bits in each salient may vary between about 5 and10. More or less definite standards are established by the art as to thenumber of needles in each step of the knitting cycle, which standardsshould ordinarily be followed. Given the knowledge of how many needlesare in each step, one skilled in the art will have no difiiculty indetermining the number of bits that should be employed in each group ofbits for operative correspondence with the needles. Preferably, thearcuate extent of the re-entrant portion is kept to a minimum consistentwith the above-described objectives, i.e. that the bits be engagedduring terrying and avoided during nonterrying, for best operationduring back-and-forth knitting.

FIGURES 12 and 13 are front elevational and top plan views,respectively, similar to FIGURES 10 and 11, but with the relationshipbetween the dial cap and bit array shifted or changed for plainknitting. To aid in making a comparison of these figures with FIGURES l0and 11, it is pointed out that the position of the yarn feed tubesremains the same so that these tubes constitute a convenient fixed pointof reference. Also, in each pair of figures, the position of the axis ofthe re-entrant groove portion 73c is indicated by a vertical dot anddash center line. It will be seen that in the altered arrangement ofFIGURES 12 and 13 this axis, instead of being aligned with the yarn feedtube, has been shifted to within the locus of stitch formation and thatthe fully retracted bit, designated 63a and the two partially retractedbits, designated 63b, are in a position corresponding to that of theneedles descending to draw stitches. The two waves of projecting bits,now designated 530', are on either side of the retracted bits as before.All other parts, including the descending wave of needles are the sameas in FIG- URES l0 and 11 and have been given similar designations.

Where, in the strict sense, a plain fabric is to be knitted, the fullyretracted bit may be located at any point within the zone of stitchformation. Where, on the other hand, a ribbed or like fabric is to beknitted, the fully retracted bit cannot be located in the region of theneedles which are actually engaged in drawing stitches. Formation of ribstitches occurs in this same region, the needles being operated in theupper cylinder, and projected bit portions must be available tocooperate with the needles drawing the rib stitches. Thus, the camshould be shifted into alignment with the first or second needle in thedescending needle wave, preferably coming as close as possible to theyarn shed but still remaining outside this shed.

The invention includes means for automatically shifting the position ofre-entrant portion 730 for purposes of plain knitting. To this end (seeFIGURES 1 and 2), an operating lever 91 is attached to collar 43 at theupper end of shaft 41 for rotation with the shaft. To the free end oflever 91 is connected one end of the wire 93 of a Bowden cable, thesheath 95 of which is restrained against movement by means of a clampingblock $7 carried by top plate 37. The other end of wire 93 is connectedto a cam follower (not shown) actuated by a cam on the main pattern drum(also not shown) of the machine. The limits of movement of lever 91 isdetermined by two spaced-apart blocks 99 mounted on the upper surface oftop plate 37, a degree of adjustment in these limits being obtained bymeans of abutment screws 101 supported by the blocks. A spring 103 urgesthe lever against the abutment opposite to the direction of cylinderrotation and wire 93 moves the lever against the other abutment forplain knitting.

Up to this point, the description has been confined to the operation ofthe terrying bits in relation to the remainder of the machine. Asalready brought out, however, the bit array will, under mostcircumstances, include a group of non-terry bits in addition to thegroup of terry hits, the configuration of the non-terry bits being thatof FIGURE 7. These bits are adapted to behave in all respects like theterry bits under the actuation of cam groove '73 but are so shaped attheir end extension 7t) as to be incapable of engagement with the terryyarn. In order to illustrate the operation of the non-terry bits, FIGURE14 shows a diagrammatic perspective view of a part of the locus ofstitch formation similar to the righthand portion of FIGURE 9 but withthe cylinders and verge dial rotated to bring the non-terry bits intoplace. Except for the difference in bits, all parts are the same as inFIGURE 9 and are similarly designated. From FIGURE 14, it will bereadily apparent that as the needles in the descending needle waveengage the terry yarn, this yarn will be brought down into contact withthe extensions 70 or bits 64. Due to the downward and outwardinclination of the top edge 71 of extension 70, the yarn will not catchthereon but rather will slide easily over the extension as the needlescontinue to descend to form stitches. Thus, the non-terry bits areinherently incapable of forming terry loops irrespective of how theyaromas are projected in timed relation to \the formation of stitches.

It will be noted that the bottom edge 72 of extension '71 projects atright angles to the axis of the needles in the needle bed as does thelower edge 69 of extension 67 of the terry bit 63. The lower edges ofboth types of the bits are, therefore, capable of functioning asknocking-over edges for any needles which may be operated in the uppercylinder, as during knitting of vertical rib or Links & Links fabric. Atthis point, it may be mentioned that while the improvement of theinvention is shown for purposes of illustration with a machine of theLinks & Links type, it is by no means limited to this particular typebut is equally well adapted for use in connection with any conventionaldouble cylinder circular knitting machine.

Occasionally, it is desirable to insert partial terry courses containingterry loops in localized areas of the fabric being knitted, as in thecase of the heel of footear. This type of knitting is known asback-andforth knitting. By virtue of the presence of two symmetricallydisposed salient portions 73b in the bit control groove '73, thearrangement of the invention is readily capable of back-and-forthknitting. All that need be done is to have the needle and cylindersoscillate to and fro in the usual way with the dial cap being inposition to produce terry loops. In other words, if the dial cap is inposition for terry knitting with the second of the two salients (in theorder encountered in the direction of cylinder rotation) properlyaligned with the locus of stitch formation so that the axis of there-entrant groove portion is generally aligned with the yarn feed tubes,as already explained, no change in the position of the cap is requiredfor back and forth knitting. Since the two salient portions aresymmetrically disposed with respect to the re-entrant portion, theoriginally leading salient portion is already aligned with the new locusof knitting established when the direction of cylinder rotation isreversed and automatically becomes the trailing salient portion for thenew direction of knitting without anything further being done. In thisway, hose having heel pockets and toe pockets composed of terry fabricmay be produced. The illustrated arrangement is not designed forback-and-forth knitting in the region of the terry bits with the dialcap in position for plain knitting.

The length of the terry loops formed in accordance with the presentinvention depends upon the distance separating the plane of the bitprojecting portions from the upper end of the lower cylinder. Thisdistance may be varied by raising or lowering shaft 51 in collar 43 tocorrespondingly raise or lower the verge assembly relative to the lowerend of the upper cylinder, subject to the proviso, of course, that theverge remain in keyed engagement with the cylinder so as to be incapableof independent rotation. Lowering of the verge assembly results in a gapbetween the lower edge of the upper cylinder and the upper edge of vergedial flange 53 but this is not objectionable.

It will be apparent from the preceding description that terrying iscarried out with the needles in the lower cylinder; this is the customin the art. Conceivably, the entire arrangement could be inverted toterry with the needles in the upper cylinder but the relationship of theparts would be unchanged in this event and no special advantage wouldfollow. Ribs can, of course, be formed by controlling certain needles inthe usual way in the upper cylinder as already indicated.

Conceivably, cam '73 could be designed to maintain the bits in projectedposition throughout the cycle except at the re-entrant portion. This,however, increases the possibility of the bit extensions becoming bentor broken due to some malfunction during operation. Consequently, it ispreferred that the bits be retracted and maintained in an out of the wayposition throughout much of the cycle. Also, the dial cap can beconstructed in such a way that the operative section of the cam, i.e.including the salient and re-entrant portions, is removable. Thissection is subject to wear over long periods of time and it obviouslyreduces maintenance cost to replace a worn section with a new one ratherthan to discard an entire cap.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings and specifically described isfor purposes of exemplification only. Certain deviations and alterationshave already been indicated and others will occur to one skilled in theart. Consequently, the scope of the invention is not limited by thedetails shown and described but only by the hereunto appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed is:

1. A circular knitting machine including, in combination, an uppercylinder; a lower cylinder arranged coaxially with said upper cylinder;needles for operation in the cylinders; means for feeding two yarns invertically spaced relation to said needles; terry bits for cooperatingwith said needles to knit terry loops in one of said yarns, each of saidbits having a yarn engaging projection at one end thereof; means forsupporting said bits in a radial array adjacent to, but slightly spacedfrom the inner end of one of said cylinders with said projectionsextending outwardly, said bits being movable radially to and from anoperative position at which terry loops are formed from and to aninoperative position; and means for cyclically moving said bitsradially, said means including a generally circular cam track engageablewith said bits, said track including two segmental salient sectionsadapted to move a predetermined number of said bits to operativeposition and an outwardly facing re-entrant section connecting theadjacent ends of said two sections, said re-entrant section movingselected bits in said predetermined number from operative position atthe end of one segmental section to inoperative position and back tooperative position at the end of said other segmental section.

2. A machine as in claim 1 wherein said re-entrant portion is ofV-shape, the ends of the V being connected to the mutually adjacent endsof said salient sections.

3. A knitting machine as in claim 1 including means for varying therelationship of said track to said bits.

4-. A machine as in claim 3 wherein said cylinders, needles and bitsrotate as a unit and said cam track is normally held fixed and saidmeans for varying the relationship of track to bits includes a shaftsupporting said track and means for rotating said shaft.

5. A circular machine for knitting terry and plain fabric comprising, incombination, coaxial upper and lower cylinders mounted in closevertically spaced relationship for rotation together about a verticalaxis, a plurality of needles mounted around the periphery of saidcylinders for vertical reciprocation, means with each cylinder foroperatively associating said needles with the respective cylinder andcontrolling the reciprocation of said needles to form stitches; meansfor feeding a terry and a nonterry yarn to said needles at verticallyspaced points; a plurality of elongated terry bits, each having a yarnengaging projection at one end, disposed adjacent the lower end of theupper cylinder with their longitudinal axes extending at right anglesand radially with respect to the cylinder axis and rotating with saidcylinders, said bits lying on a plane intermediate the points at whichsaid yarns are fed and being movable radially from a position at whichsaid projections are confined within the cylinder periphery to aposition at which said projections extend beyond said periphery; cammeans, normally held against rotation, for cyclically moving said bitsradially during bit rotation, said cam means including a cam surfaceoperative to project and maintain in extended position a fixed number ofsaid bits, said surface being interrupted by a re-entrant surfaceoperative to retract to confined position at least one of said bits fromsaid fixed number, said re-entrant surface being generally alignedradially with said yarn feeding means, whereby operation of the machineforms terry fabric; and means for shifting said cam means apredetermined distance to align said re-entrant surface with l 5 thelocus at which needles are actuated to form stitches, whereby operationof the machine forms plain fabric.

6. A knitting machine as in claim 5 adapted for knitting terry loops andrib loops in the same course including a plurality of non-terry bits inaddition to said plurality of terry bits, said terry bits extendingradially through only a portion of the cylinder periphery and thenon-terry bits extending through the remainder of said periphery, eachof said non-tcrry bits having a yarn-releasing surface at the radiallyoutward end thereof, whereby each cycle of operation with the cam meansin normal position results in a course including terry and rib loops andeach cycle with the cam means in shifted position results in a course ofrib loops only.

7. A knitting machine as in claim 6 including a generally cylindricalverge dial substantially fitting within the lower end of said uppercylinder for rotation therewith, the lower face of said dial havingradially directed slots spaced around the circumference thereof andextending inwardly of said circumference, said slots receiving theplurality of terry and non-terry bits for limited radial slidingmovement; and a circular verge dial cap fitting over the lower face ofsaid dial and maintaining the bits in said slots, said cam means beingcarried by said dial cap.

8. A knitting machine as in claim 6 wherein said means for shifting saidcam means includes a shaft extending axially through said upper cylinderto adjacent the lower end thereof, said dial cap being fixedly connectedto the lower end thereof, said verge dial being supported by said shaftfor rotation therearound, said shaft being independently rotatablebetween fixed positions to shift said cam means.

9. A knitting machine as in claim 8 wherein said shaft is movableaxially of said cylinder to adjust the axial position of said dial, bitsand cap relative to the lower end of the upper cylinder, whereby thelength of said terry loops may be varied.

It). A circular knitting machine for both terry and plain knitting andconvertable from one to the other, said machine comprising, incombination, coaxial upper and lower cylinders in closely spacedvertical relationship; a circular bed of needles for operation in saidcylinders to form stitches in a fixed locus; a plurality of sinkerscooperating with said needles to form plain loops alternating with saidstitches; a plurality of terry bits cooperating with said needles toform terry loops alternating with said stitches, said bits being spacedat least partially around the cylinder periphery in alternation withsaid needles, each bit having a projected position, in which it projectsbetween adjacent needles, and a retracted position, in which it iswithin the cylinder periphery; cam means for controlling the position ofsaid bits in sequence, said cam means including a salient portionoperative to maintain a group of said bits in projected position and anadjacent reentrant portion operative to maintain at least one bit inretracted position;

means connected to said cam means for normally locating said salientportion in alignment with said locus of stitch formation to produceterry loops; and means operable on said last-mentioned means to locatesaid re-entrant portion in alignment with said locus to produce plainloops.

11. A knitting machine as in claim 10 wherein said cam means includes asalient portion on either side of said reentrant portion, said salientportions being symmetrical with respect to the radial axis of there-entrant portion.

12. A circular machine adapted in one portion of its circumference toknit terry fabric and in another portion of its circumference to knitribbed and non-ribbed plain fabric selectively, said machine comprising,in combination, coaxial upper and lower cylinders in closely spacedvertical relationship, means for rotating said cylinders together, a bedof needles for operation in said cylinders, a circular array ofelongated bits adjacent one end of one cylinder and adapted to cooperatewith said needles to form stitches, said bits being arranged with theirlongitudinal axes in a common plane and extending radially from thecylinder axis, said array including two groups of bits, one groupextending around the portion of the cylinder periphery where the terryfabric is knit and the other group extending around the portion of thecylinder pcriphery where the ribbed and non-ribbed plain fabric isselectively knit, each of the bits in said first-mentioned group havingat its exterior end a yarn-engaging extension adapted to engage the yarnbeing knit and form terry loops therein and each of the bits in saidsecond-mentioned group having at its exterior end an extension havingtop and bottom edges, one of said edges being adapted to engage the yarnwhen the needles are being knit in the cylinder opposite said one edgeto form ribbed plain fabric, the other of said edges being adapted topass the yarn clear of said extension when the needles are being knittedin the cylinder opposite said other edge to form nonribbed plain fabric,means supporting the entire array of bits for limited radial movement,and means in engagement with said array for moving the bits thereinradially along a predetermined path.

13. A machine as in claim 12 wherein the extension of each bit in saidfirst-mentioned group is of generally L- shape and the extension of eachbit in said second-mentioned group is of generally right triangularshape, the inclined edge or" said triangle extending downwardly andoutwardly with respect to the cylinder axis to clear yarn moving in adownward direction and the base edge thereof extending perpendicularlywith respect to the cylinder axis to engage yarn moving in an upwarddirection.

14. A verge assembly for use in connection with a double cylinderknitting machine to terry yarn, said assembly comprising a generallycylindrical verge dial adapted to substantially fit within the open endof one cylinder, said dial having a flange portion at one end thereofadapted to overlap the end of said cylinder and present a commonexternal periphery with said cylinder, the end face of dial and flangeportion being formed with slots closely spaced around the circumferencethereof and extending radially inwardly from said circumference, aplurality of elongated bits fitting Within said slots for limited radialmovement, a dial cap extending substantially over said end face and bitsand maintaining the bits in said slots, said cap being formed with cammeans for engaging the bits to move them radially in accordance with apredetermined path, said cam means including two salient sections, eachoperative to maintain a group of said bits in projected position withrespect to the dial flange portion and a re-entrant section connectingthe mutually adjacent ends of said salient sections and operative tomaintain at least one bit in retracted position with respect to saidflange intermediate said groups of bits in projected position, and meansfor mounting said assembly in operative position in said machine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS302,928 Murby Aug. 5, 1884 1,545,845 OLena July 14, 1925 1,885,322Bentley ct al Nov. 1, 1932 1,910,457 Bentley et a1 May 23, 19332,098,446 Agulnek Nov. 9, 1937 2,370,449 Clarke Feb. 27, 1945 2,376,050Green May 15, 1945 2,736,177 Bristow Feb. 28, 1956

1. A CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE INCLUDING, IN COMBINATION, AN UPPERCYLINDER; A LOWER CYLINDER ARRANGED COAXIALLY WITH SAID UPPER CYLINDER;NEEDLES FOR OPERATION IN THE CYLINDERS; MEANS FOR FEEDING TWO YARNS INVERTICALLY SPACED RELATION TO SAID NEEDLES; TERRY BITS FOR COOPERATINGWITH SAID NEEDLES TO KNIT TERRY LOOPS IN ONE OF SAID YARNS EACH OF SAIDBITS HAVING A YARN ENGAGING PROJECTION AT ONE END THEREOF; MEANS FORSUPPORTING SAID BITS IN A RADIAL ARRAY ADJACENT TO, BUT SLIGHTLY SPACEDFROM THE INNER END OF ONE OF SAID CYLINDERS WITH SAID PROJECTIONSEXTENDING OUTWARDLY, SAID BITS BEING MOVABLE RADIALLY TO AND FROM ANOPERATIVE POSITION AT WHICH TERRY LOOPS ARE FORMED FROM AND TO ANINOPERATIVE POSITION; AND MEANS FOR CYCLICALLY MOVING SAID BITSRADIALLY, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A GENERALLY CIRCULAR CAM TRACK ENGAGEABLEWITH SAID BITS, SAID TRACK INCLUDING TWO SEGMENTAL SALIENT SECTIONSADAPTED TO MOVE A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF SAID BITS TO OPERATIVEPOSITION AND AN OUTWARDLY FACING RE-ENTRANT SECTION CONNECTING THEADJACENT ENDS OF SAID TWO SECTIONS, SAID RE-ENTRANT SECTION MOVINGSELECTED BITS IN SAID PREDETERMINED NUMBER FROM OPERATIVE POSITION ATTHE END OF ONE SEGMENTAL SECTION TO INOPERATIVE POSITION AND BACK TOOPERATIVE POSITION AT THE END OF SAID OTHER SEGMENTAL SECTION.